Take Care of my Daddy
by Laid-Back Brit
Summary: Ellie has a surreal dream of meeting a certain person who tells her exactly what she thinks all the redhead has done to fill the aching hole she left behind in Joel's heart twenty years ago... One-shot.


**Hi, guys! Here's a new story I wrote for The Last of Us. Hope you like it. :)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own The Last of Us. It belongs to Naughty Dog.**

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"Night night, baby girl..."

The soft words which were whispered to her were the last ones Ellie expected to hear that night. Laying in her bed, she watched with tired, half-lidded eyes as her father prepared to leave her bedroom.

"G'night, Joel..."

It took the remaining ounces of the auburn-haired girl's energy to bid farewell to her guardian. No sooner had he pulled the door shut behind him after leaving her bedroom, her eyes closed themselves as she drifted off into slumber.

For the next few hours, Ellie was at rest on the comfort of her mattress and under the warmth of her duvet. Nothing to see, nothing to hear, nobody to talk to or annoy with her cheeky remarks and bad puns. The young girl was completely submerged into the peacefulness of sleep.

"Ellie..."

A sudden voice suddenly caught the teenager's attention. It was a soft, sweet voice of pure innocence; one which she did not recognise.

Ellie was puzzled. Not only did she have no idea of who was speaking to her, but she also had no clue of where she was.

She found herself in a clear blue atmosphere where clouds were swirling all around her. They were as thick yet soft as cotton candy. The youth glanced all around with a baffled expression. She glanced down towards her feet. She was standing on thin air – much to her ever increasing confusion.

"What is this place?" she asked aloud. "Where am I? Why am I hear?"

"So I can finally get a chance to speak to you."

There was that voice again. It was coming from right in front of her. Ellie lifted her gaze – and a soft gasp escaped her lips.

Standing before her was a small, blonde-haired girl. She appeared to be close to her own age. A sweet smile was on her face as she gazed up at the auburn-haired girl with twinkling blue eyes.

Ellie's jaw hung open. She gaped at the other girl as her face went white with shock. She had never met this person before in her entire young life – and yet, she recognised her at once.

"Are you...?" She stammered, for once, having trouble finding her voice. "Are you...?"

"Yes I am." The girl nodded, affirming her identity without saying her name. "Hello, Ellie..."

"Sarah?!"

Ellie's green eyes widened. She was staggered to find herself face-to-face with Joel's deceased daughter. She observed her closely in all her disbelief. It had been over twenty years since she had died – and yet here she was, precisely as young as she looked in the photograph she'd seen her in.

"What are you doing here?" Ellie asked, placing a hand on her chest to steady her racing heart.

"I'm here to thank you..." Sarah said simply.

"Thank me?" The redhead blinked. "Why d'you wanna thank me? I haven't done anything good for you. We've never even met before."

"Oh, but you have done something good, Ellie." Sarah took the other girl's hand in her own, rubbing it gently as she gazed at her with a grateful smile. "Something I'll never be able to thank you enough for..."

Ellie stared, having no idea what this girl she'd heard so much about but thought she'd never meet was referring to.

"What's that?"

"You brought my daddy back to himself."

"Oh?"

A tear escaped one of Sarah's eyes, running down her cheek as the smile remained on her face. "After I died, Daddy lost all his happiness. He spent the next twenty years suffering over losing me; something I never wanted him to do..."

Ellie felt her heart go heavy. She was perfectly aware just how badly Joel had taken losing his only daughter. She hadn't needed to know him for as long as twenty years to see that.

"My daddy was never himself again – until he met you..."

Sarah pulled the fourteen-year old's hand closer to herself. She placed it gently onto her chest. For a brief moment, Ellie thought she could feel a heartbeat coming from inside the blonde, although she wasn't sure if it was real.

"You given my daddy a new reason to go on. You made him realise that someone else needs him while I'm gone. You even saved his life. I saw how you looked after him when he was impaled. I could not have felt more thankful that you were there for him.

As modesty filled Ellie's freckled face over hearing all she had done for the father of the spirit before her, Sarah closed her eyes. Tears continued to leak out of them, but as she opened them again, they shone with happiness up at the auburn-haired girl.

"Please, Ellie, take care of my daddy. He needs you just as much as you need him. Please be there for him."

By this time, Ellie was starting to tear up as well. She nodded slowly at the blonde with a sniffle, managing to send her a smile for the first time.

"I will," she promised softly. "I'll always be there for your dad, Sarah. I'll take good care of him – just as he would for us."

Sarah's innocent face shone with gratitude. She wrapped her arms slowly around Ellie. She pulled the other girl into a tight embrace, hugging her tightly as if she were her sister.

There was no stopping the tears coming out of Ellie's eyes. They streamed down her face as she held Sarah in her own arms. She was determined to live up to her promise, wanting to ensure the late daughter of her guardian could trust her.

"Your dad really misses you, Sarah," she whispered. "And he truly loves you..."

"I know..." Sarah pulled away, still beaming at the girl she was proud to share her father with. "And he loves you too, Ellie. Thank you for being there for him."

Ellie smiled, drying away her tears with the back of her hand. More continued to build in her eyes over all the feelings she was going through.

With all she needed to say now told, Sarah started to drift backwards away from Ellie. She raised a hand to wave to the other girl, taking a final look at her for as long as she could.

"I'm so glad my daddy met you, Ellie," she said, "as did I at last..."

"I'm glad to have finally met you too..." With a small smile that contained all of her emotions, Ellie lifted her own hand to wave back. "Goodbye, Sarah..."

"Goodbye, Ellie – and thank you..."

Ellie remained stood on the open air as she waved to Sarah. She cried silently as the spirit of the girl she had at last spoken to cast a final smile to her before fading away, leaving her all alone to rest in her sleep, recovering energy for a new day of taking care of their beloved father.

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**Thanks for reading! :)**


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